International Program

Challenges and Opportunities

Endodontics has changed fundamentally during the past decades: the concepts were reconsidered; the instruments were redesigned and new ones were designed to negotiate and completely obturate the intricate morphology of the root canal system. Clinical approaches and techniques were re-evaluated and evolved to achieve superior and lasting treatment results.

The International Program is a part-time advanced continuing education program, that teaches state-of-the-art endodontics. It is especially designed for international dentists, who live and practice outside of the United States, and who would like to incorporate advanced endodontic techniques and technologies into their private dental practices. The program requires 3 separate months at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and is suitable for clinicians with a sincere interest in endodontics. Through its lectures and practical instructions, as well as through supervised hands-on laboratory practice, the program enables participants to expand their endodontic knowledge and skills to be able to provide comprehensive endodontic care to their patients.

This is not a CODA accredited program. The successful completion of the International Program does not qualify the participant for the American Board of Endodontics certification process nor does the completion of the program qualify for the application of a license to practice dentistry within the United States. Depending on the local regulations and dental boards, the successful completion of the program may, however, qualify for a specialist degree in the participants’ home country.

Information about the two-year full-time endodontic Certificate Program can be found here.

Two-Year Program/Four Phases

Phase I: Required Residency at the Department of Endodontics

Three separate months with a separation of minimum 6 months in between. Additional months may be added for up to 2 months for those participants who wish to benefit from additional interaction and to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying philosophy and goals.

Academic Training
During this phase the “student” learns the complete use of the operation microscope as well as attends all postgraduate seminars, lectures and discussions. Text books and selected endodontic literature are assigned for reading. In addition, computer-based endodontic study material will be available for viewing. This study material may be used to reinforce the philosophy as well as the concepts and techniques in micro-endodontics and endodontic microsurgery.

Pre-clinic Training
The participant is required to perform endodontic therapy under the microscope on 100 extracted teeth using hand- as well as NiTi rotary instruments. The progress in endodontic technique is evaluated once a week in meetings with an assigned endodontic faculty member. During this time, the participant is also introduced to microsurgical techniques and may assist with microsurgery performed on patients in the Surgical Suite of the Department. As part of the final performance evaluation, the participant presents a fully documented portfolio of all completed cases.

Phase II: Remote Supervised Clinical Work

Following the required residency of 3 months at the department and the successful completion of the preclinical phase, the student is required to present 50 perfectly documented micro-endodontic cases of moderate difficulty and 15 microsurgical cases. These are cases treated in the student’s private practice within one year of completion of Phase I.

Phase III: Presentation and Evaluation of Completed Cases

The student will return to the Department of Endodontics for a formal presentation to the entire department, a minimum of 10 selected, fully documented, micro-endodontic and a minimum of two microsurgical cases

Phase IV: Evaluation of Clinical Performance

In his/her private practice, the clinician performs micro-endodontics in the presence of one of the department’s faculty on three cases: one anterior, one premolar, one molar and one microsurgical case, which may be either a premolar or a molar.

Environment

The Department of Endodontics is the first department to incorporate operating microscopes in clinical teaching and practice and is one of the largest Endodontic Postgraduate Programs in the USA. A fully equipped preclinic laboratory, state-of-the-art surgical suite and 20 clinical dental units offer microscopes, ultrasonic units, warm-vertical obturation units, micromotors and other state-of-the art equipment and supplies. Macintosh systems with either iWorks or Microsoft Office and current photo editing applications are available for documentation purposes.

Qualifications

DDS or DMD holder of a foreign dental school with a sincere interest in endodontics and of good moral character.

Tuition

US $26,000 for the approximate two years that it takes to finish the continuing education program. It includes the tuition for the 3 separate months spent at the department. Travel, room and board are the scholar’s responsibility for all the trips. The tuition for each additional month in the department is US $3,000. The cost for the final examination given in the dental practice of the scholar is also to be borne by the participant.

Note: One of the faculty members of the department will give the final examination in the scholar’s dental practice and the transportation, hotel and meal expenses are to be borne by the participant. Whenever possible, every effort will be made to schedule this examination when one of the faculty member is already in the country or in the vicinity of the doctor’s office so that the cost is minimized.

Residency at Penn Endodontics

The program is available throughout the year apart from July and August. A visiting doctor participates in these 1st and 2nd year courses as they are available during the time the resident is at Penn Dental Medicine. The courses that may be in progress at the time of the participants visit are: Anesthesia and Pain Control, Introduction to Clinical Endodontics, Endodontics I, Pulp Biology I, Current Literature I, Endodontic Anatomy & Physiology, Introduction to Endodontic Examination, Diagnosis, Radiology & Treatment Planning, Case Presentation, Intro: Surgical Operation Microscope Endodontic Materials, Medicaments, Instrumentation, Obturation, Endodontic Microbiology, Clinical Seminars, Guest Lecture Series, Advanced Endodontics II, Pulp Biology & Inflammation, Current Literature II, Practice Management, Advance Endodontic Microsurgery, Case Presentation, Selected Topics in Endodontics, Endodontic Examination, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning, Traumatic Injuries to the Teeth and Supporting Structures, Periodontics, Restoration of Endodontically Treated Teeth, Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction, Clinical Seminars, Guest Lecture Series.